The words hit like a hammer.
Before my body could even react, footsteps thundered from the far end of the hallway. Panic exploded through me.
"Wait, there is a mis..." I started, but no one listened instead it got lost between their loud accusations.
Two guards surged forward, hands reaching for my arms. Instinct took over. I twisted sharply, slipping past one of them as my shoulder slammed into the wall. Pain mixed with panic, but I forced myself to move, skirts gathered in my fists as I bolted down the corridor.
"Stop her!" someone shrieked behind me, but I did not have time nor the energy to look back.
The quiet mansion shattered into chaos.
My mind raced as fast as my feet. Think. Think, Kayla. If they caught me now, there wouldn't be excuses, there wouldn't be mercy. I did not know what the reason was that they were behind, but I could interrogate about it later; for now, I need to run for my life.
I turned a corner blindly and nearly crashed straight into a tall, solid figure.
"Ouch!" I winced as those strong hands gripped my shoulders, steadying me before I could fall. I looked up, breath coming in ragged gasps, and froze.
I looked up, and the world stilled. Shock punched the air out of my lungs as I realized who it was.
It was him. The same man from last night.
His features, which I couldn't be able to figure out, were now here in daylight. The same sharp features, the same cold, controlled presence wrapped in authority like an untouchable cloak.
His dark eyes widened for a fraction of a second when he saw me, just enough to confirm that yes, he recognized me too. His expression locked back into something unreadable, making me question if it was just my imagination.
For half a heartbeat, neither of us moved. Then reality crashed back in as one of the servants yelled from behind. "There! She's trying to escape again!"
I looked back instinctively. The guards were already charging, boots pounding against the marble floor. I wanted to run, but his grip tightened as I tried to move. So, I forced myself to speak, "Please, help me. They are mistaken!" I said breathlessly, making wild hand gestures to explain it all in that microsecond.
"I didn't do anything. I swear..." I tried to complete my sentence when a guard grabbed my wrist roughly, his fingers digging into my skin.
"Come here, you little bitch," the guard sneered as he tried to pull me. Pain shot through as I gasped. That's when something moved in the next second.
He stepped forward, pulling that guard's grip from my hand. The guard screamed in pain as his grip loosened on my hand. I could not see his expression, but from the guard's terrifying expression, it wasn't too hard to guess.
He then simply placed himself between the guard and me like a solid, immovable wall of steel.
"Who gave you the right to touch this lady?" His voice was low and painfully calm, but everyone could hear the danger in it. The guard froze, as did all the people standing behind.
"M‑my lord. We are acting under orders..." he stammered, taking a hasty step backwards as if he wanted to create distance between them.
"On whose orders?" the man interrupted, eyes cold as a winter night.
The hallway had gone dead silent. Servants lingered at a distance, whispering nervously. And I?
I stood behind him, as my heart slammed against my ribs. My fingers were trembling, and my wrist still tingled where the guard had grabbed me.
One maid suddenly shoved her way forward; courage and fear twisted together on her face.
She shrieked, pointing straight at me. "My lord, she poisoned Lady Selene last night!" The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
"What?" I breathed out.
The maid didn't stop. "Lady Selene collapsed after drinking the wine! And someone saw her...this woman was hovering near the drinks, doing something with her hands!"
Murmurs erupted instantly.
Poisoned?
My blood turned to ice.
No, it couldn't be. It's not possible. I never took the poison from Josephine, then how...?
My brain ran a hundred miles per hour thinking about every possibility that could happen, when a thought struck.
Wait, did she give the task to another person? But who else was there other than me, who would be too perfect for her devious plan?
No, she can't be that hasty, and how was she able to shift the blame to me? That too again?
"No, I didn't. I never touched the drinks. I was nowhere near Selene, I could swear on my life," I said quickly, shaking my head.
"That's enough." The man's voice cut through the noise like a blade.
He turned slightly, just enough to look at me from the corner of his eye. His gaze lingered on my face for a fleeting second before it shifted back to the guards.
"You cannot accuse this lady just based purely on one person's word," he said coolly, making everyone freeze in their position.
The maid faltered. "B‑but she saw her..."
"Who? Who claims to see her doing that?" he interrogated.
The maid hesitated, her confidence wavering the moment all eyes turned to her. She swallowed hard, fingers curling into her apron.
"I...I didn't see it myself, my lord, but… but someone else did," she admitted in a trembling voice.
"She did." A thunderous voice came from the other side of the hall. Two figures appeared, coming forward; their faces became visible.
"Marcus." The name escaped from my lips. My eyes scanned him from top to bottom. Marcus now looked too different from last night. Though he wore the last night's party clothes, his happy expression was turned into a grim one.
His eyes seemed a little red from being awake the whole night or crying out or both. Under them, the skin looked dark and sunken. He looked like someone who was mourning for a loved one.
A question struck me, churning the knots, making it painful to even breathe.
Did Selene actually consume the poison? Was she actually dead?